An 87-year-old man has been charged in the death of his roommate just three days after the body was discovered in an alley on New Year’s Eve.
In a release from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office Wednesday the man, Ernest Weston, was charged with killing his roommate, 45-year-old Todd Dunlap and then dumping his body in the 900 block of Elm Avenue, where it was discovered Sunday morning.
A second man identified as 58-year-old James Leonard Pettie was also charged by the DA for being an accessory after the fact for allegedly helping Weston dump the body in the alleyway.
Dunlap’s body was discovered around 6:00AM Sunday morning with blunt force trauma to his head and authorities initially thought that he was homeless before opening their investigation.
Weston and Peete were arrested by the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) around 7:00PM Sunday night in the 400 block of East 5th Street for Dunlap’s murder. The LBPD’s statement said that Dunlap and the suspects were known to each other and had “become involved in a dispute” prior to the murder.
Weston has been charged with one count of murder and one count of possession of a dangerous weapon while Peete has been charged with one count of being an accessory to murder. Both had their bails set at $2 million and are being held at the Los Angeles County Jail.
The DA’s announcement said that on December 31 Weston allegedly stabbed Dunlap with a knife before having Peete assist in disposing of his body. If convicted, Weston could serve a maximum possible sentence of 26 years to life in state prison while Peete could serve up to three years in county jail.
“He was so kind and nice I don’t know how anybody could do this to him,” said Dunlap’s neighbor Breanna Dato.
Dato said Dunlap had two roommates and the apartment complex they live in is only two blocks away from where his body was found. She and other friends of Dunlap hope to hold a service in his memory, though no date has been set.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story identified the co-defendant as James Leonard Peete. Authorities have since corrected his name which is in fact James Leonard Pettie.